Blind as a Bat
by RightToRemainSilent
Summary: A small songfic that takes place in book 7. :Arra's Death scene: LartenxArra


_Righty then! This a songfic I wrote a few weeks ago, and I thought I'd let it loose on the general public. So... here it is!_

_It's based on the awesome **Saga of Darren Shan **(The best vampire series, in my opinion) and is my take on what happened in book 7(?) when Arra Sails dies. Forgive any errors, coz I don't have my books with me - I leant books 5-9 to a friend and have yet to retrieve them - but it's basically how I see the scene. Just out of interest - did anyone else cry when Arra died? Hm. I did. I also cried when Mr Crepsley died in Book nine, but... yeah. That might just be me. _

_It's very much LartenxArra, by the way. I just love 'em. *sniffs* Why did they have to die?! Actually, there are quite a few songs on the Bat III album - and some of his others - that would go well with a LartenxArra fic. Hm..._

_**DISCLAIMER: **Nothing belongs to me and is the sole creation of Darren Shan. Although I wouldn't mind owning Larten... :D I don't own the song either, sadly. It's from the Bat III album by Meat Loaf, and as it - like most of his stuff - is fairly long, I've cut bits like extra chorus' out. Save space and all. Well, I'll stop blabbering at you and leave you to read. _

_o*O*o_

* * *

**~Blind As a Bat~**

_I am not afraid, _

_To show you who I am,_

_And I am not ashamed, of my life. _

_Though I've walked alone,_

_Down this cold and soulless road,_

_I've always felt you deep in my bones…_

Larten hurried after the stretcher, pushing past the vampires on their way to the fighting, his sole intention to stay with her; he'd taken his eye off her for mere seconds and look what had happened.

He brushed away tears and ran, following the two hefty vampires supporting the stretcher with her limp frame as the only cargo. It disappeared into a small room to the left and he ducked after it, hoping she was still alive. Hoping the wound hadn't been too deep. His mind told him to stop lying to himself - he'd seen how deep it had cut - but he pushed aside his rational side and continued his journey.

_With every step, I rise and fall,_

_With everything to gain,_

_I end up losing it all._

_When the darkness gets in,_

_I scream out and your light sets me free…_

He squeezed past as the stretcher bearers left, leaving her with a vampire posted as an emergency medic. Larten ignored his questions and looked down into her dark eyes, his tears falling onto her pale face. Her stretcher had been laid down on a crude, homemade bed, and the cave they were in was obviously the living quarters of someone. He spotted a few items of clothing - a long, leather coat, belts and a pair of hardy boots - and realised it was her own room. He'd forgotten she didn't agree with the conventional coffin. It almost made him smile.

Larten bit his lip; all the feelings, the good and the bad, he'd had for her had suddenly melted away, leaving him feeling the only emotion that had been constant towards her; love. The emotional blocks he'd put up since he'd left the Mountain fell away, and he swallowed hard. She smiled faintly and then coughed, a tremor wracking her body. "Larten…"

_I'm not afraid of the past no more,_

_I'm not afraid that I'm bad for good._

_I used to dance to the devil's beat, _

_If I could bust into Hell I would._

_I'm not afraid to shed all my skin,_

_I'm not afraid of the faults you see,_

_I'm tearing down these walls right now._

_They're coming down 'cause I believe…_

"I am here Arra, do not worry." He croaked, clasping her hands – shaking and frail – between his own. "I am sorry."

She gave a choked laugh and smiled wryly at him. "You're not the one having trouble living."

He laughed, her sarcasm ever present, and his tears flowing freely now. "Shh, save your strength."

Arra snorted and closed her eyes tightly, wincing. Then she looked at him, her own lips curving into a faint smile despite the tears forming in her own eyes. "Larten, go. Help with the fighting. Send the Vampaneze running back to the fabled Lord like the cowards they... they are."

"No. I am staying with you."

"Don't be—" She coughed again, weaker, "…so bloody stubborn… Crepsley. Go."

Larten shook his head defiantly and took a deep shuddering breath, wiping his eyes with his tattered sleeve.

"Larten…"

"No. I am _not _leaving you, Arra. Not again."

_Your love is blind, _

_Blind as a bat. _

_The way that you're leading me_

_Home like that._

_Your love is blind, _

_Blind as a bat_

_I'm not afraid when they kick me down,_

_I'm not afraid when I start to bleed,_

_I'm not afraid if I live or die, _

_I'm not afraid 'cause I believe…_

Arra's fingers tightened around his and he swallowed hard. He couldn't loose her, not now. He'd made the mistake of leaving her before and now she was slipping through his fingers again.

"Please Arra, don't leave me." He whispered, almost to himself. She tried to sit up, but with a pained cry she slipped back into her former position. Larten, his vision blurred by the tears and sadness welling up inside, dragged a sleeve roughly across his eyes and then – trying desperately to compose himself – leant over her.

"I love you, Arra Sails. I never stopped loving you." He kissed her, gently pressing his lips to hers, ignoring the blood - her blood - that lingered on her lips.

_And I wish that I could give you,_

_Something in return._

_For the precious time you wasted_

_On the tears I never earned_

_For reaching out to help me,_

'_Cross the bridges I had burned…_

When he pulled away she was smiling softly. "I know, Larten. I know." And then she was gone, leaving him alone with his grief. The medic had gone to join the battle and he bit his lip as he held back the fresh tears that threatened to fall. Arra Sails, one of the best fighters the Mountain had seen in recent years, was dead. But she had been much more to him than simply a fighter. She was just… Arra. And nobody could ever replace that.

A sob wracked his body and he linked his arms around her waist and lifted her limp form up, holding her tightly to his chest, sobbing uncontrollably into her hair.

_And in the end you'll finally see,_

_That baby I've done everything I possibly can._

_I'd do it again,_

'_Cause I know you're everything I need…_

He stayed like that for what seemed like hours, rocking slowly back and forth, Arra cradled firmly in his arms. His heart ached and his mind was numb. He knew he should try to stay together, for Darren's sake if no one else's, but he couldn't hold back the anguished cries that rose in his throat. Arra Sails, the fiery vampire who had caught his eye so long ago, was gone, just as he had got her back.

Larten sniffed roughly, his breathing uneven as he laid her slender torso back down on the stretcher, her face wet with his own tears.

_I'm not afraid of the truth no more, _

_I'm not afraid of the lies I hid_.

_I'm not afraid of the price of my sins,_

_I curse the day for the wrongs I did._

_I'm not afraid of the things you know,_

_I'm just a book for the world to read._

_My final words on the final page,_

_Will be your name 'cause I believe…_

Looking down at her, seeming so peaceful and at ease, made his eyes well up again and he sighed heavily. He smiled sadly, and brushed her hair away from her face.

Then, bending carefully over her again, Larten kissed her forehead gently and gripped the edge of the stretcher for support, both physical and emotional. With his free hand he made the Vampire Death sign, fingers trembling on his eyes.

"Peace, Arra." He whispered, and then closed his eyes tightly, swallowing shakily. She would want him to join the others, watch out for Darren – he knew that. But he couldn't bring himself to leave her. She looked so vulnerable, lying there, face peaceful. And besides, he'd promised he wouldn't leave her once before and made a mess of it. Why do it again?

He slumped down onto an ancient wooden stool, lowered his face into his hands, and Larten Crepsley wept.

_Your heart is kind,_

_Mine's painted black._

_The way you forgive me _

_And just take me back._

_Your love is blind,_

_Blind as a bat…_

* * *

_Okay then - any views? It's my first SoDS fic, so I hope it turns out okay. I was just listening to the album again (**Bat Out of Hell III, **if anyone was interested) and was thinking of a new fic and... well, this was the result! Larten Crepsley and a good ol' Meat Loaf track; what's not to like?... Yeah, okay. Apart from the death. That's not too likeable. I s'pose._

_Well, thanks for reading! Reviews are very much appreciated!_

_:Symph:_


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